‘Because you deserve better than made-up Marilyn Monroe quotes.’
– Otegha Uwagba, founder of Women Who
Know your worth and assert it. Women are still vilified for exercising the tenacity and assertiveness that men are applauded for in work situations, and that’s magnified in creative industries, where you see young women putting in huge emotional investments yet still feeling like they need to downplay their abilities. Which is bullshit. You have to become your own biggest cheerleader, even if it makes you cringe at first.
Jo Fuertes-Knight, journalist
Apologize only when you’ve done something that actually requires apology. Don’t apologize for speaking your mind or saying no or claiming your space or having ambition or taking credit when it is your due.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer
I do think it’s important to be unapologetic about what you do. I used to mumble aspects of my job – flagging up only the bits I thought sounded most mainstream – but now I try hard to give each thing I do the weight it deserves.
Pandora Sykes, journalist and stylist
Take up space – don’t be apologetic about your ideas and opinions. Men aren’t.
Linsey Young, curator at Tate Britain
The one thing you really need to know before starting a business is yourself. You need to know your limits, and how far you’re willing to go. You’re going to have to work really hard – do you have that in you? Is this something you’re really passionate about? What are your strengths, and what can hold you back?
Serena Guen, founder and CEO of SUITCASE Magazine
I think my answer to this question has changed a lot since having a baby. Before, I’d have said something about being assertive and making use of the unique position you have in the fashion world, by being both the creative and the target market. But now I realize the challenges that women face are not only external obstacles, but internal ones as well. I now have to be successful and work to the detriment of my relationship with my baby, and that is a sacrifice that I have to feel good about – but I reason that I now work harder when I’m at work because of what I have given up to be there. I need to make every second in my studio count, and I feel like that is really helping to focus my work, and take me into a new chapter of my career.
Quentin Jones, illustrator and filmmaker
Be true to yourself. Creative living requires you to be vulnerable, emotionally honest, and open to both your intuition and the world around you. I think that the most important advice is to follow your intuition and stay true to your values above all else. I’ve found that the most fulfillment comes when my soul is my goal path.
Piera Gelardi, executive creative director and co-founder at Refinery29
Don’t keep your ideas to yourself. Be confident that you can do it better than the next person, but for that to happen your idea needs to be out there so people can feed back on it, and help you get what and where you need. I’ve found that people are very eager to give time to someone who is passionate about something.
Lana Elie, founder and CEO of Floom
To assume gender equality at all times, even when evidence of the opposite is staring you in the face, and doggedly proceed under that assumption.
Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman
Trust your instincts, because they’re always right. Also – no matter what – remember to carve out alone time to reflect and regroup, because you’ll never be as productive as you can be if you don’t. It’s easy to feel that you should be working all the time, but down time is equally important.
Victoria Spratt, journalist
One thing I’ve found really useful is sticking to the 20 per cent rule (or at least that’s what I call it). The next time you negotiate a salary or payment, ask for 20 per cent more than you think you deserve – because you’ve almost certainly been undervalued, whether unconsciously by yourself, or by the people paying you. So just go for that extra 20 per cent. Maybe your employers go for it, maybe they won’t – but you’ll definitely feel better for having tried. And when you’ve tried it once, that makes it easier to do it again.
Zing Tsjeng, journalist and Broadly editor
Get help. I spent a long time believing I had to do it all, and that no one else would do the job as well as me. That’s bullshit. Sure, no one can write my books for me, but getting help with the other stuff means I can free up my brain for the deep work that I really love.
Anna Jones, cook, stylist and writer
Be in this together. Be with each other. Respect all industries and the work they entail, even if you don’t understand them. Collaborate – cross-pollinate each other with your skills and experiences. Make friends.
Missy Flynn, restaurateur
Always pick up the phone over sending an email. And always eat breakfast.
Alicia Lawson, director of Rubies in the Rubble
Be enthusiastic and amicable, but don’t let anyone walk over you. Get in touch with everyone you want to work for and make sure they know who you are.
Francesca Allen, photographer
Really get to know your industry inside and out, not just your own specific role. I meet so many people who say they want to (for example) be a fashion editor – but if that’s what you want to do, then you really should know how a buyer’s job works, how a designer’s job works … heck even how the intern’s job works! All of those things affect you. Also – don’t be afraid to take risks. Sure they might not always work out exactly how you planned, but better to have tried.
Lynette Nylander, writer, editor and creative consultant
Guilt about what you haven’t done or can’t achieve makes a louder noise in your head than joy at what you have done, and have achieved. Be mindful of your own expectations of yourself and remember to celebrate your creativity, your problem solving and your sheer can-do attitude at the end of each day. If you are appreciative of yourself, so will others be.
Caryn Franklin MBE, fashion commentator and agent of change
That boardrooms are places you should exist in. That doing something you care about will mean you do a better job. That eight hours of sleep a night is necessary. Ask more questions. Take more baths. Your work-life balance will constantly hang in the balance, but ultimately you decide which way the scales tip. Be aware of the times when work has to come first, and sensitive to those moments when your family and friends should be your priority. Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Be focused. Go slower. Be a perfectionist, even if it doesn’t come naturally.
Nellie Eden, co-founder of Babyface
I followed a career in a field I might have chosen as a hobby so there can be confusion between what constitutes work and leisure. But I have learned to enjoy humdrum things, and I think that’s the trick: you have to choose whether your professional or your personal life is going to be the high-octane one, and make sure the other is more low-key and restorative.
Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman
I maintain a healthy work life balance by not being afraid to let my job overlap with my life. I come from an artistic, entrepreneurial family. They are my biggest inspiration. Growing up in a family business taught me that work was part of life, and that it could be a source of energy, not a draining bore. Those borders were always blurred. Today, I work with several of my dearest friends, as well as my husband, and having a familial feel in the office is something that I love, and part of what makes R29 such a joyful place to work for me. To me, it’s important to have gratitude and recognize the many amazing opportunities and people that surround me. I also really believe in carving out space for myself daily, whether that’s listening to an inspiring podcast on my commute, taking small vacations tacked on to work trips, or simply taking the time to make breakfast in the morning. If you’re go go go all the time, it’s hard to have perspective.
Piera Gelardi, executive creative director and co-founder at Refinery29
When I get home after a day in the studio, I leave my phone downstairs and give my son a bath and put him to bed without interruption. When he was first born I was trying to do emails while taking care of him, and I wasn’t doing well at either job. The same goes for holidays – I’ve stopped taking my laptop so I don’t feel tempted to open it up and play with work files. Being a freelance creative, it’s easy to allow whatever your current project is to take over all aspects of your life – but actually when you look back on the important moments of the last five years, you won’t remember that online film or whatever it was that seemed so important to you at the time.
Quentin Jones, illustrator and filmmaker
I work out three or four times a week, and it makes me feel so much better. You need to do something that makes you not think about work for a bit, and exercise really helps. If you don’t spend time away from work you’ll never get the perspective you need to make really good decisions.
Serena Guen, founder and CEO of SUITCASE Magazine
I try to have one day at the weekend that’s a phone-free zone. It’s important to be connected but it’s equally important to be present in the moment, and remember that you’re no good to anyone if you’re spread too thin and trying to do a zillion things at once.
Victoria Spratt, journalist
A constant battle for us all, I’ve learned to manage myself not as an inexhaustible resource but as a finely tuned being, and to say ‘I’m sorry but I can’t fit that in this week’. There is the temptation to think that because we have been asked, that we are therefore the only person who can do something. Not true. I let some projects or opportunities go in the knowledge that I am not a cog in a wheel, but a creative who needs space. Relationships with loved ones have also helped enormously to remind me of the importance of being, rather than doing.
Caryn Franklin MBE, fashion commentator and agent of change
Evenings and weekends are sacrosanct – I keep them completely work-free. I could – and have – worked every hour available, and it’s possible to do that and still produce great work, but it’s at the cost of the rest of your life. Having my little boy has been the best perspective check I’ve had.
Anna Jones, cook, stylist and writer
Time blocking helps me differentiate when I’m on the clock, and when I’m ‘off’ – I only just learned how to do that. Also, there is no such thing as ‘no time’ when it comes to self-care. You have to make the time, because your happiness radiates from you, to clients and employees alike. Finally: defer replying to one email a day and, instead, use that time to write a few lines to a friend. Friendships are something that can really take a hit when work becomes your number one, but business is lonely, and even more so when you let the people who really know and love you slip away.
Missy Flynn, restaurateur
I’ve always made sure I have friends who do things outside of fashion. They don’t care about the new collections or about a designer leaving a house and I need that! I couldn’t and wouldn’t be well rounded without having all the wine-filled dinners about politics, culture and our personal lives that we do. As much as working and achieving your goals is an amazing and gratifying feeling, work is just one facet of this big bowl of confusion we call life, and you need to have joys and pleasures outside of it. Cultivate a hobby to occupy your mind when you’re not at work, and remember to enjoy life in and out of the office.
Lynette Nylander, writer, editor and creative consultant
I focus quite narrowly on what really matters to me and how I want to spend my time.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer
My new thing since going freelance, is to take a walk each day and call a friend.
Pandora Sykes, journalist and stylist
By sticking to social plans made in advance, so I have to leave the office at a reasonable hour.
Alicia Lawson, director of Rubies in the Rubble
Nothing is ever that deep that you can’t turn your phone off for a couple of hours. The end.
Jo Fuertes-Knight, journalist
Yoga and breathing to a musical soundtrack of birds and waterfalls first thing; clothes that make me feel great because I’m comfortable and I look the part; a power perfume (currently Portrait of a Lady by Frédéric Malle); and a hard-copy diary and notebook because I love writing things down, making lists and crossing things off – not to mention doodling when I’m on the phone. I stretch my body or move it when I can. I play music – fast for a deadline and slow for creativity. Oh, and when I’m working from home I talk to myself … a lot.
Caryn Franklin MBE, fashion commentator and agent of change
Yoga, or some form of exercise. An alarm clock radio, not the alarm on my phone. Mascara. An actual calculator. Kiehl’s Cactus Flower Hydrating Mist, for when I’m stuck inside but want to freshen up and feel close to nature.
Missy Flynn, restaurateur
A creative sounding board. I have a handful of people I use as a sounding board for big decisions. They include a film producer (who happens to be my sister), another cook, a writer and my husband. They are people who know me inside out, and have no interests in my business – but they love and know me well enough to tell me the (sometimes ugly) truth.
Anna Jones, cook, stylist and writer
Coffee and a tight deadline.
Francesca Allen, photographer
My day-to-day essentials are a morning cup of coffee, making breakfast at home, and getting in a good workout at least 3 days a week. I also rely on laughter and the power of bringing play into my every day – the best brainstorms are accompanied by fits of hysterical giggles. I really believe in the magic of humour and openness in the creative process.
Piera Gelardi, executive creative director and co-founder at Refinery29
Lip balm. The voices and wisdom and love of my family and friends.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer
A huge Mac desktop (my luxury), chewing gum, my Bailey and Nelson glasses and, if possible, an oily bath every single day – if only for 5 minutes.
Pandora Sykes, journalist and stylist
Reading and radio for mental rest; postcard writing to inject a bit of random altruism into a work-oriented day; taxi travel when my schedule gets a bit overloaded and I need a break; television for escapism; diary writing to stay in touch with my inner dialogue.
Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman
Sleep. Seriously. I want to say something romantic and tangible like a notebook containing my thoughts and feelings, but I’d be lying. There is nothing heroic or productive about depriving yourself of valuable bedtime.
Jo Fuertes-Knight, journalist
A clean and tidy wardrobe, so it’s easy for me to choose what to wear in the morning. A nice fragrance, because smelling good puts me in a good mood. My glasses, because I can’t really see shit without them, especially when I’m working. And a good candle for when I get back home in the evening – Cire Trudon make my favourites.
Lynette Nylander, writer, editor and creative consultant
Fast broadband and a good ol’-fashioned notepad.
Alicia Lawson, director of Rubies in the Rubble
My phone, Google Calendar and the Adobe Creative programs. I also need a cup of coffee each morning (followed by every type of tea throughout the day), a scalpel, black ink pens, my bike to get around and yoga classes a few times a week to balance things out.
Quentin Jones, illustrator and filmmaker
Elizabeth Arden. Good books. A Muji 0.38 navy pen. A Moleskine. Coffee. Coconut oil.
Nellie Eden, co-founder of Babyface
Don’t drink the pickle juice. There’s an interview with Nicki Minaj where she talks about being ‘bossed up’ and standing up for herself, saying: ‘If I had accepted the pickle juice, I would be drinking pickle juice right now.’ An old colleague and I turned that into our mantra. Every time we went into a meeting where we knew people were going to try to walk all over us, we’d whisper, ‘don’t drink the pickle juice’ to each other. Personally, I found it very helpful.
Zing Tsjeng, journalist and Broadly editor
Nobody died. My mum’s an NHS nurse so any time I call her with work-related histrionics she’s like, ‘Okay, but did anyone die?’ That looks awful written down, but it’s been a surprisingly effective mantra for forcing me to be pragmatic and solution-driven with my work.
Jo Fuertes-Knight, journalist
Go big or go home! Only in terms of work, though – I’m in bed by ten every night.
Linsey Young, curator at Tate Britain
Don’t work for free, and don’t sell out without getting paid. Don’t take crap from anyone, and don’t let people make you feel bad or awkward.
Francesca Allen, photographer
If you don’t ask you don’t get. Most of the breaks I’ve had in my career have come from contacting people I respect to tell them how much I rate them, and asking if there are any opportunities to learn from them.
Anna Jones, cook, stylist and writer
Question everything.
Serena Guen, founder and CEO of SUITCASE Magazine
Work hard, play hard. My dad told me that was how he lived when I was a teenager, and from then on I’ve tried to follow in his path.
Quentin Jones, illustrator and filmmaker
You’re only as good as your team.
Missy Flynn, restaurateur
I really like the idea of being the one to make the change. So, if it’s not the normal way to do things, then be the one to change it up. Anything done well is legitimised by its success.
Pandora Sykes, journalist and stylist
What is for you, won’t go by you.
Lynette Nylander, writer, editor and creative consultant
Spread the joy and be open to joy. I like people, and I try to get the best out of them by being as warm and supportive as I can – but I’ve learned the hard way that I’m not superwoman, and that I can’t be all things to all people or save a situation when it’s broken. I’ve stopped suppressing my inner voice, which for the most part is trying to help me by saying what needs to be said. I’m still learning to say what needs to be said with grace and humility, which is really hard when I feel very challenged, but I feel there is better progress when there is a higher level of emotional exchange.
Caryn Franklin MBE, fashion commentator and agent of change
Ask, ask, and ask again.
Lana Elie, founder and CEO of Floom
My motto is ‘forever forward’ which is all about always moving forward, forgiving yourself for mistakes, and being a proud work in progress … recognising that you have to put in the work in order to progress.
Piera Gelardi, executive creative director and co-founder at Refinery29
If you talk about doing something three times – do it.
Nellie Eden, co-founder of Babyface
Never admire quietly. Never disapprove quietly. Above all else, be true.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer